The fact that she chewed the pills like candy may have slowed how quickly her body absorbed any narcotic, doctors told her mother.

TIA police, meanwhile, went into overdrive.

Airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said the airport pulled all 2.17-ounce bags of Skittles from the shelves of its stores and inspected them for signs of tampering. Police found nothing unusual and started to think the candy probably hadn't been purchased there.

Turns out, TIA hasn't sold tropical-flavored Skittles for months.

Deputies are continuing their inquiry. They interviewed Bailey once, Winsett said, but hope to have better results with the help of someone skilled in questioning very young children. "She's a beautiful 4-year-old little girl who is full of energy,'' he said.

Winsett believes it's possible someone opened the bag, dropped in the pills, then resealed it. He said his office experimented with the wrappers and found it's not that hard to do — at least if the consumer isn't paying close attention to the condition of the packaging. But he cautioned against blaming the maker of the candy.

"We don't have anything to indicate that this is anything other than an isolated incident," Winsett said.

Skittles manufacturer William Wrigley Jr. Co. said the company is cooperating with the investigation, which Winsett said includes trying to track where the bag was purchased.

In an unrelated case last week, a Clay County teenager shopping at a Middleburg CVS pharmacy reported finding a bag with 1.2 grams of cocaine inside a box containing Skittles bags.